Madita is the newest foreign exchange student attending Cedar Catholic High School this year.

She traveled to the United states in September from an area of Germany called Saarland, along the French border about 40 miles east of Luxemburg.

She lives in the small village of Ensdorf, a bedroom community of about 3,000 with her parents and younger sister. Madita says she also has two older brothers who are now married.

“We travel very far to find things we need in Germany,” said Madita. “The largest city for shopping is Saarlonis which has about 12,000 people, but there are shops there, too.”

Madita found the Youth For Understanding program, an organization responsible for 3,000 youth traveling and experiencing other nations and cultures worldwide, and decided to apply for one of several scholarships available to students. That was during the summer of 2013.